The use of ultra-violet (UV) curable inks is well known within the printing industry, particularly in so-called industrial printing. UV curable inks are often used, for example, for prints which may be exposed to water, such as in outdoor environments. UV curable inks (herein after generally referred to as simply UV inks) typically exhibit enhanced water-resistance and durability compared to water-based inks.
In incremental printing systems, such as inkjet printing systems, it is known to include UV radiation sources in proximity to the inkjet writing system to cure UV ink once it has been printed on a media. Such systems are generally said to perform in-line curing. However, such systems require considerable amounts of electrical power to drive the UV radiation sources. For example, some industrial printers may have to use dedicated power lines in order to provide the necessary electrical power for performing curing.
As the speed of industrial printers is generally increasing, so the amount of power necessary to cure UV ink has to increase to provide curing in an ever smaller amount of time.
UV radiation sources, such as arc UV lamps, generate significant amounts of heat during operation, thus the use of such radiation sources further complicates printer design as the heat must be managed and/or removed so as to not have negative consequences on print quality or printer reliability.
In order to reduce the amount of power required to cure UV inks it is known to performing curing in an oxygen-depleted environment. Such an approach can, in some instances, enable UV inks to be cured with 20% less power compared to performing curing in an oxygen-rich environment.
However, providing an oxygen-depleted atmosphere within a printer is particularly challenging and may have significant complexity and cost impacts, not to mention potential safety concerns for printer operators.